New training from the Pharmacy Integration Fund

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New training from the Pharmacy Integration Fund

Responding to the Health Education England (HEE) press release on the 25th January 2018 informing on the new-post-registration pharmacist training, Tess Fenn, President of the APTUK said,

“APTUK is delighted that HEE are supporting training for pharmacy professionals and the Pharmacy Integration Fund is being applied across the pharmacy team to advance patient outcomes. APTUK welcomes the new post-registration community pharmacist training as this will surely lead to gaining competence with confidence that can channel through to the whole team and the symbiotic relationship between pharmacy technicians and pharmacists.

This is excellent news and equals that of the ‘Community Pharmacy Technician Training and Development Programme pilot”.

A new pilot for community pharmacy technician training programme has been launched in the West Midlands. The pilot, which is run by Coventry University and supported by Coventry LPC (Local Pharmaceutical Committee), will enable registered community pharmacy technicians to develop their professional and leadership roles within community pharmacy, alongside targeted workforce and organisational development. It will run until December 2018, and the outputs will inform the next steps for rollout of training and education nationally from 2018/19.

More information can be found on Coventry University’s website http://www.coventry.ac.uk/primary-news/coventry-university-to-deliver-community-pharmacy-technician-training-and-development-pilot-programme-/

Tess Fenn comments that “APTUK are pleased to have been heavily involved in this significant development and are keen to see how the new course curriculum develops to support pharmacy technician knowledge, skills and behaviours as they start or continue their leadership journey. We look forward to working with NHS England & HEE and engaging with Coventry University in supporting the development of the pharmacy technician profession, as roles continue to evolve. We also look forward to the outcomes of the pilot and its impact on the safe delivery of pharmacy services to patients, and enhancements brought to the pharmacy team as a whole”.

APTUK encourage Pharmacy Technicians enrolled on this pilot to link their learning and scope of practice with the APTUK Foundation Pharmacy Framework http://www.aptuk.org/about-us/education/foundation-pharmacy-frameworkfpf/. APTUK members are able to access support to help them use the framework. To find out more: http://www.aptuk.org/about-us/champions/

NHS England/HEE Factsheet

Pharmacy Technician Training and Development

Background

The NHS is working to ensure that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians play an increasingly visible and expanded clinical role in improving outcomes and value from medicines for patients.

To support this, NHS England is enabling the transformation of pharmacy practice through the Pharmacy Integration Fund.

The fund is being used to develop evidence-based schemes which integrate pharmacists and pharmacy technicians into wider primary care as part of new multi-disciplinary healthcare teams, making the most of their clinical skills.

The NHS Five Year Forward View set out a clear direction for the future NHS and placed great emphasis on service integration, including 'new models of care' which integrate primary and secondary care, and health and social care.

Health Education England is working in partnership with NHS England to drive forward the workforce transformation which will be needed to achieve these goals. This work is part of a broader HEE agenda to enable workforce transformation across the NHS to support locally delivered integrated care models.

The Pharmacy Integration Fund will play a key part in helping the NHS increase the scale of high quality clinical pharmacist and pharmacy technician intervention and delivery of medicines optimisation.

Working with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) and other partners, HEE has developed seven new, fully-funded, innovative programmes. These are available for individual pharmacists or pharmacy technicians through flexible and accessible learning solutions, allowing those enrolling to study at work, or in their own time.

The training programmes are:

  • Independent Prescribing for Pharmacists in GP practices, care homes and integrated urgent care/NHS111 hubs
  • Post-registration Training for Community Pharmacists
  • Community Pharmacy Technician Training and Development Programme
  • Care Homes Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technician Training Pathway
  • NHS111/Integrated Urgent Care Workforce Development Programme for Pharmacists
  • Clinical and Professional Leadership Development for Pharmacy Professionals
  • Accuracy Checking Pharmacy Technician Programme.

HEE Press release 25th January 2018

New post-registration pharmacist training to strengthen the pharmacy workforce

Health Education England (HEE) has developed a new training course for community pharmacists to help them make the best use of their skills as part of multidisciplinary NHS teams and ensure patients get the most benefit from taking their medicines.

The master level courses, which are funded through NHS England’s Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhIF), are now open for applications.

The courses will cover five strands, which are service improvement; extended skills; patient activation; delivering medicines optimisation; and NHS England priorities.

Professor Wendy Reid, Executive Director of Education and Quality & National Medical Director, Health Education England, said:

“Making sure the workforce has the right skills, behaviours and values to enable effective multi-disciplinary team working and integration within the NHS, is key to the long-term sustainability of the NHS.

The Pharmacy Integration Fund is enabling us to work with our stakeholders to develop this innovative and engaging new training as part of our broader agenda to drive workforce transformation across the NHS to support locally delivered integrated care models.”

Dr Bruce Warner, Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at NHS England, said:

"The NHS wants pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to play an increasing clinical role in improving outcomes for patients. The aim is to better integrate pharmacists as clinical professionals into wider primary care by enabling them to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services."

Community pharmacists can choose to take a single module or range of modules, with different credit values, dependent on their development needs or interests, with a maximum of 60 credits per learner per year (60 credits is equivalent to a postgraduate certificate).

Health Education England has worked with stakeholders and partners, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and pharmacy professional bodies, to develop these flexible and accessible blended learning solutions.

The Pharmacy Integration Fund has been set up by NHS England to enable pharmacist and pharmacy technician integration in primary care as part of new multi-disciplinary healthcare teams, enhancing and making the most of their skills as clinical practitioners.

The courses will run from March 2018 to March 2019 and the equivalent of up to 2,000 postgraduate certificates is available in total.

Background information

  • The NHS is working to ensure that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians play an increasingly visible and expanded role in improving outcomes and value from medicines for patients.
  • To support this, NHS England is enabling the development of pharmacy practice through the Pharmacy Integration Fund.
  • The fund is being used to develop schemes which integrate pharmacists and pharmacy technicians into wider primary care as part of new multi-disciplinary healthcare teams, making the most of their clinical skills.
  • The NHS Five Year Forward View set out a clear direction for the future NHS and placed great emphasis on service integration, including 'new models of care' which integrate primary and secondary care, and health and social care.
  • Health Education England is working in partnership with NHS England to drive forward the workforce transformation which will be needed to achieve these goals. This work is part of a broader HEE agenda to enable workforce transformation across the NHS to support locally delivered integrated care models.
  • Working with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and other partners, HEE has developed new, fully-funded, innovative programmes. These are available for individual pharmacists or pharmacy technicians through flexible and accessible learning solutions, allowing those enrolling to study at work, or in their own time.
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